Dartmouth Schools Superintendent

General information

This study explores the reasons for high turnover within rural superintendencies from the perspective of local boards of education. Forty-one school districts with 600 or fewer students in a southwestern state were identified as experiencing high superintendent turnover (having employed three or more superintendents within the past 5 years). Twenty-five (61 percent of the identified) school board presidents were interviewed over the telephone. The most common problems that existed between the board and previous superintendents included financial mismanagement, financial malfeasance, communication issues, and marital immorality. Twenty-seven (43 percent) of the 63 superintendents who left the districts were either terminated or forced to resign at the end of the school year; 3 (5 percent) were terminated during the school year; 15 (23 percent) resigned to accept positions in larger school districts or positions that paid more; the remainder left because of health reasons or